Train Handling Rules Compliance System

1. A system for determining and transmitting the state of a locomotive, comprising: at least one sensor for detecting the state of a locomotive; an onboard subsystem in communication with the sensor and having an event detection module programmed to receive data representing at least one state of a locomotive and to determine whether a predetermined non-compliant event representing a failure to operate the locomotive in compliance with at least one predetermined train handling rule has occurred based on the at least one state of the locomotive, wherein the event detection module is programmed to determine the non-compliant event by retrieving a reference variable having a predetermined value from a configuration file stored in an onboard database and comparing the predetermined value to the data representing the at least one state of the locomotive as the data becomes available to determine whether operation of the locomotive fails to comply with a rule statement based on the predetermined value, wherein the onboard subsystem is configured to receive the configuration file from an external source prior to the locomotive starting a route; a transmission module programmed to transmit data representing the determination by the onboard subsystem that the non-compliant event has occurred; and an off-board subsystem including a reporting module programmed to receive the data representing the determination by the onboard subsystem that an event has occurred from the transmission module data and to generate a status report from the data, wherein the off-board subsystem further includes a storage module programmed to store at least a portion of the data representing the determination by the onboard subsystem that an event has occurred.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the onboard subsystem is further programmed to determine whether the predetermined non-compliant event has occurred if the state of the locomotive exceeds the predetermined value of reference variable.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the transmission module is programmed to transmit data representing the determination by the onboard subsystem that the predetermined non-compliant event has occurred when the onboard system has determined that the predetermined non-compliant event has occurred.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the transmission module is further programmed to transmit the at least one state of the locomotive according to a predetermined schedule.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the reporting module is further programmed to transmit data via a web interface.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the reporting module is further programmed to transmit data to remote server.

7. A method of tracking state of a locomotive, comprising: using an onboard system to receive data representing the state of a locomotive from at least one sensor, wherein the onboard system comprises an event detection module programmed to receive data representing at least one state of a locomotive and to determine whether a predetermined non-compliant event representing a failure to operate the locomotive in compliance with at least one predetermined train handling rule has occurred based on the at least one state of the locomotive, wherein the event detection module is programmed to determine the non-compliant event by retrieving a reference variable having a predetermined value from a configuration file stored in an onboard database and comparing the predetermined value to the data representing the at least one state of the locomotive as the data becomes available to determine whether operation of the locomotive fails to comply with a rule statement based on the predetermined value, wherein the onboard subsystem is configured to receive the configuration file from an external source prior to the locomotive starting a route, and a transmission module programmed to transmit data representing the determination by the onboard subsystem that the non-compliant event has occurred; determining whether the received data represents the occurrence of a predetermined non-compliant event representing a failure to operate the locomotive in compliance with at least one predetermined train handling rule; and transmitting data representing the occurrence of the predetermined non-compliant event to an off-board system, wherein the off-board subsystem further includes a storage module programmed to store at least a portion of the data representing the determination by the onboard subsystem that an event has occurred.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the step of transmitting data representing the occurrence of the predetermined non-compliant event to an off-board system occurs when the received data is determined to represent the occurrence of the predetermined non-compliant event.